MANILA, Philippines — Despite missing its top gunner Bienvenido Maranon, Ceres Negros FC expresses confidence it can get the job done as it defends its AFC Cup Asean Zone title against Singapore’s Home United beginning in tonight’s first leg at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.
The Busmen won’t have the Spaniard Maranon – owner of 10 goals in the tournament – as he serves his two-match suspension for getting sent off in the second leg of their previous semis showdown with Myanmar’s Yangon United but the host club trusts that the rest of the gang will pull through.
“For me, it’s nothing new that Bienve (Maranon) doesn’t play. We knew that two months ago already. We have already prepared without him. We have to think about the players that can play and I think we have enough supply of players that the team will not suffer in his absence,” said coach Risto Vidakovic ahead of the 7:30 p.m. fixture.
“Bienve (Maranon) is a big loss for us but I think the way our system is built, it’s not very much dependent on a single player. Someone has to step in and I’m sure he will fulfill his role completely,” said skipper Martin Steuble.
The zonal championship features a rematch of the two protagonists in 2017 with Ceres aiming a repeat of its 3-2 conquest on aggregate over two legs.
The two clubs played in the same group this year and the Singapore crew got the better of the Busmen head to head with a 2-0 win at Panaad following a 1-1 stalemate at Jalan Besar.
“There’s a big difference between the first game, the last game, and the game tomorrow (tonight) with Home United. I think they will play the same way so we’ll have to try to play our own brand of football. It doesn’t matter what the score was in the last one. It’s a new game, it’s a very important game,” said Vidakovic.